Poem January 10, 2005 Issue

TO BE AND NOT TO BE

Gwenn Gurnack

To be a good Samaritan and a humble publican
Has set my heart afire.

For many locust-eaten years
I seemed much more the Levite and the Pharisee:
Not altogether selfish,
Not wholly unconcerned,
Appearing somewhat brotherly
And willing in small ways
To take responsibility.
But I did not walk the talk unfailingly,
For there was always much too much of me.

I seldom gave with thought of no return;
Yet rarely heard unjudgingly a just rebuke;
Nor went the extra mile outside my comfort zone;
Or felt complete without the compliment,
Content with God's approval-His alone.

But now I seek a higher ground,
A fresh world unreservedly,
A path above the one outworn:
The freedom of unfettered sharing,
Unrequited caring, unpretentious living
Based on true forgiving,
An open hand, a single eye, a bended knee.
Oh, more of Him, and less, less, less, of me!

From this day forth,
Let all I be
Be Love reflected,
And all that is not,
Not be.

by Gwenn Gurnack

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